Sophie Cleverly is the author of
The Whispers in the Walls and other books in the Scarlet and Ivy series of mystery adventures set in a boarding school. One of ten top terrifying teachers in children’s books she tagged at the
Guardian:
Miss Lupescu in The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
Miss Lupescu is a terrifying teacher in a few strange and unexpected ways. When she’s first set the task of looking after Bod, a child raised in the graveyard, 
she is strict and seems lacking in empathy. She feeds him strange, horrible foods that make him sick: “dumplings swimming in lard; thick reddish purple soup with a lump of sour cream in it; cold boiled potatoes; cold garlic-heavy sausages.” She demands that he pays attention to her boring lessons. Only later on in the book when Bod falls into deep trouble with a group of ghouls do we find that these lessons were very important indeed. Miss Lupescu is much more than she seems, and she becomes an important guardian, protector and friend for Bod.
Read about
the other entries on the list.
The Graveyard Book is among
Claire Barker's top ten haunted houses in fiction,
Jon Walter's ten top first lines in children's and teen books,
Helen Grant's ten "best books with settings that are strikingly brought to life" and
Nevada Barr's 6 favorite books.
--Marshal Zeringue